Actor's Individualism: Personality Displayed on Stage

Finished talking about tourists in the last post, I would like to take
the development of individualism in China to a more positive note.
With intense control of public opinion and what is considered "moral,
non-corrupting forms of entertainment" by the government, the concept
of entertainment programs did not even exist on Chinese TV until very
very recently. Just a decade ago, Chinese TV consisted of news,
propagandistic drama series (involving such favorite topics as
anti-Japanese war stories and communist greatness...topics that still
are popular to this day because of guaranteed popularity with the
older generations), and little else...

Then, with increased reforms and commercializations of the local TV
stations, entertainment programs, often involving pop musicians and
celebrities, came into being as means of attracting younger audience
groups. The programs, emulating similar ones in Japan, South Korea,
Taiwan, and Hong Kong, requires the hosts and guests to think on the
spot, creating endless funny situations and funny conversations to
gain continued attention from the audience. Yet, such a model is from
the history of CCP's ruling methods (and historically, the imperial
system), quite unthinkable, in particular because the people are not
expected to show individual opinions or personalities on stage in
front of large audiences; instead they are simply expected to carry
the political correct statement issued by the government.

And the CCP has been a good reason to worry about the increased
individual thinking some celebrities are carrying on the supposedly
state-controlled TV stations. Although the entertainment programs
never carry any political messages, the mere act of respect shown to
pop cultures originating from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong,
and the U.S. by itself is unnerving for the government. And worse,
what if one day, by accident, some popular celebrity unwittingly says
something wrong about the government on these hugely popular shows.
After all, many of the invited celebrities are not from the mainland
and do not have the necessary political sensitivities.

But at the same time, the government is finding it difficult to crack
down on these shows. The shows are allowing state-controlled TV to
truly compete with unregulated Internet as prime source of
entertainment, and at the same time, advertise (mainland) Chinese
musicians that will form the backbone of government effort to increase
domestic soft power and reduce dependence on more "culturally advance"
neighboring areas. To say the least, suddenly banning or reforming
certain shows would increase the already prevalent feeling that the
government is the reason that China is performing so poorly in pop
culture.

Thats is not to say that the government haven't tried. Watching these
shows, sometimes you can clearly hear the hosts bellowing some
scripted messages handed down from the government. The government has
subtly reformed the format of the shows to increase admiration of the
Party and reduce their democratic nature (such as "popular elections"
in talent search shows), thereby constraining the boundaries in which
the shows' participants can freely proclaim their opinions amid
laughters of their loyal supporters. But, it can be said that even
with the limits, the idea of speaking one's mind, an idea nonexistent
in the past, has deeply taken root, at least for those on the stage.

And I am seeing an even more optimistic trend within these
entertainment shows. The shows are increasingly using the
participation of the audience members themselves, asking the audience
members for their personal opinions, to allow the shows to proceed.
Encouraging the common people to have opinions about things is
something no Chinese government, including the current one, has ever
seriously thought of. After all, if the people can have opinions
about celebrities, why not also say something personal about the
government? The shows, thankfully, are allowing Chinese people to use
their natural right to speak out, even if it is in a very limited way.

The government is not willing to give up the controls, not only on
these TV shows but any form of popular entertainment not specifically
sanctioned by the government. Speaking about an independent artists'
community in Beijing's 798 Factory, a proud CCP cadre noted a need to
"guide" the community to develop in a moral (i.e. politically correct)
fashion. The same attitude can easily be seen regarding TV programs.
But Chinese celebrities should not be discouraged by the CCP's lack of
common sense. Only when they, and their enthusiastic followers,
continue to speak their minds can the Chinese truly be elevated in
status from mere subjects to a ruling government to citizens capable
of making up their own minds and make their own decisions about any
issue, political or otherwise.